Workplace facilities

[Beebo]

Bad news is our work showers will be closed for 3 weeks, so it will be baby wipes for me
Good news is that they will be refurbished, with more lockers and a towel service!!!!!

 

[Biscuitfrisky]

Started commuting in a few months ago.

Company has parking spaces in the buildings underground car park but one of the other companies have used the car spaces to install racks which are hardly used so I'm using theirs

Only got a large disabled toilet but no showers, a new director moving into our office is looking to install a single shower in the disabled toilet but that would mean about 6 people all coming in for 08:00am trying to use it.

 

[fossyant]

We are slowly building up a cyclists email address list - I know all the regulars, but the list appears to be about twice the size of folk I know who ride. Some other staff have started to ride to work at our new office, which is great, but the facilities at the moment are crap, and will put off new folk.

There have been loads of complaints about the vertical racking - not just us core cyclists, but others individually, that are having difficulty lifting their bikes (never mind locking them).

I get in every day and am swearing and cussing just getting my locks to fit it's not fun. The news on the floor is these will be taken out for Sheffield stands that we asked for originally, and much cheaper !

 

[summerdays]

I hate vertical racking, difficult and mucky getting my bike into them so I normally abandon and find a railing nearby so I hope they do get rid of them. Was it for space reasons they went for it? Or cos it looked nice if not practical!

 

[fossyant]

I hate vertical racking, difficult and mucky getting my bike into them so I normally abandon and find a railing nearby so I hope they do get rid of them. Was it for space reasons they went for it? Or cos it looked nice if not practical!

Cos they looked nice. Well they would do if not absolutely filthy in building dirt. It's these:-

http://cyclepods.co.uk/products/spacepods/

Shame anyone with a mudguard (note no flaps) has the whole bike weight resting on the guard - I've shoved a small lump of branch and a bit of cardboard in the bottom of my 'pod'. Biggest issue is everyone is struggling to secure their bikes well when you have a D'lock.

I've just about got the knack with my long d lock, and an Abus Bordo for the front of the frame and wheel. Two other colleagues have gone out and bought the Aldi copy of the Bordo that's £14.99 having seen mine.

Getting used to the new routine of lock bike, walk to office, walk the length of the building to changing area (it's huge), then back to lockers, then upto my desk (back at the other end). It's a case of a routine. My last office, was pull up to building, carry bike up stairs to my office, put bike inside, get changed and ready to work.

Five minutes compared to 15.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Some bright spark decided to turn the boilers off yesterday, so I've had two days of freezing cold showers. Needless to say words were had and it will be a warm on Monday, or a p45 will be issued.

 

[Lincov]

We now have a secure bike locker with Sheffield stands inside, which is locked after most people are at work and unlocked before most people leave, showers with drying space and a hair dryer (in the ladies at least) and lockers, as well as the C2W scheme. It's wasted on my 1ish mile micro-commute, but appreciated by others!

 

[fossyant]

My dripping wet kit has just been hung up in an unused fire stair lobby near my desk. I robbed a coat stand and a free standing fan. I have told a couple of folks but no one else has seen the arrangement. Less wet kit is in my unvented locker with my little battery fans.

 

[Tynan]

mine is all going in a plastic bag in my pannier under my desk, bearable at the mo in summer kit but not reeely going to work when winter come and it gets wet, 1000 staff, not awfully secure bike stands for 50 bikes, three showers for runners too and some people that seem to get out of bed and go to work to shower, shave etc, and no provision whatsoever for kit

free towel every day though which is nice

 

[fossyant]

We have one person that is showering at work because their bathroom is being re-done - no issues, but in a family, I was timing the 'water off' issues to re-position the bath and re-plumb in serious times - a plumber would do it in their time...

Outer layers were dry at home time, but my shorts and base were wet still. Got a battle ahead. We are fortunate there are about a similar level of lady cyclists at work, so this wet kit might issue might get resolved quicker. Who is going to listen to a lycra lout roadie.... I step back and let the lady cyclists give it to them....!!!

Slightly better news, we have a few new folks starting shortly. One is a young lady cyclist in my office area (safety in numbers - we need a lady, and not an older nutter cyclist). She turned up to interview with broken bones from a tram track crash from her bike.. She did really well apparently and got a job. She would have had the job from me as a cyclist, but extra points for getting there with busted bones... Kudos !!

 

[fossyant]

The Travel team turned up today. They have been innundated by grumpy cyclists.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

As I type, our new bike lockers are being installed, in the car park, in the pouring rain. Yay!

 

[pplpilot]

We (I) am incredibly lucky, our MD is a keen cyclist so we have covered bike cages with CCTV and a fully kitted out shower / changing rooms with washing machine and dryer, anyone who cycles in has a key to their own locker.